


Clowder

by TANGOCHARLIE



Series: Jack Dalton and the Lone Wolf Pack [1]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Caring Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Gen, Kovacs Mission, Mac's Swiss Army Knife, macgyver fluff challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:14:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27670067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TANGOCHARLIE/pseuds/TANGOCHARLIE
Summary: On the Kovacs mission, Jack meets a new furry friend.
Series: Jack Dalton and the Lone Wolf Pack [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023304
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	1. First Meeting

The team holed up in an abandoned building located next to a crumbled high rise, the apparent aftermath of Kovacs and his crew. They'd lost track of him for three days when he took out an entire city block. It was a vacant city block, but still a city block. No known casualties save for some roving chickens and random wildlife taking refuge in the empty buildings.

Kovacs caught wind he was being tailed and bombed the ever loving hell out of the abandoned area because he thought Jack and his crew were hiding out there. Lucky for Jack, some bad intel led them elsewhere where they lost the trail and had to start from square one. It was fortuitous because they probably would have hidden out in that area and been taken out by the bombs.

Once the team saw Kovacs' crew check the area for bodies and then leave, it was the best possible location for them to hide out and catch their collective breath. Embers still glowed and smoked in the wreckage around the block, a good cover for the boys to finally have a cooking fire. The MREs weren't good when heated, but even worse when cold. 

Jack took first watch so his team could get some much needed rest. He sat just inside the door of the small building that used to be situated in the shadow of the high rise, apparently a Bodega of some sort. All of the food had been picked clean by vermin and only chewed remnants of empty bags remained under the layers of ash, soot, and dust. Even the vermin had abandoned the building long before Kovacs leveled everything around it. 

When Jack heard some rubble fall and a rustle, he was immediately on high alert. He pulled the radio out of his ear to make sure he had his full range of hearing. The light clattering continued, and Jack had to investigate to make sure no one was waiting outside to ambush them while they slept.

Opening and closing the door without a sound, he crept with his back against the wall, gun raised, over to the Charlie-Delta corner of the structure. The area was clear, no hostiles, but the sounds of movement persisted. He shined his flashlight into piles of rubble from the high rise hoping to not be surprised by some kind of giant wharf rat or Ninja Turtle. Or even worse, a person at the wrong place at the wrong time that managed to survive that building collapsing. They did not have the resources to save a half dead civilian with 3 day old crush injuries.

More small rocks trickled from a spot in the wreckage and Jack approached it tentatively. He squatted to one knee and pointed his firearm directly at the spot where the rocks had stirred. A faint mewling. Didn’t sound like a wharf rat. Jack inched closer and moved a few loose rocks out of the way, nothing that would compromise the structural integrity of the mountain of cinderblock and rebar. 

The crying grew a little louder and Jack knew he was on the right track. Once he made room to stick his hand into the opening, he got on all fours and felt around for the trapped animal. His hand followed the ground until it hit something solid and fluffy. It hissed and slapped his hands, claws out. He pulled back immediately, more startled than anything and tried again, this time with a flashlight. 

His hand crept more slowly as to not spook the critter. It got defensive anyway and clawed and bit Jack's hand, but he was anticipating that and managed to grab it by the scruff and pull it out of the wreckage.

Jack sat back on his heels and immediately pressed the tiny kitten into his chest. He made shushing noises and petted it, "it's ok, little guy. You're safe. I promise." For a moment, the palm sized cat accepted the attention, then squirmed to get away. Setting him back on the ground, Jack watched to see where he scampered off to. Maybe he had a mama around somewhere to nurse him. But the kitten went back into the cavern in the debris.

"No, son, it's not safe in there." Jack complained. As the cat retreated, more rocks and dust showered down in front of it, caving in the small entrance. He knew trying to move them would destroy the structural integrity of the whole pile and wouldn't be able to pull his hand back out with the cat in it without disturbing the mountain of debris. 

It was so scrawny and tiny, it had probably been away from its mother for a while. He was likely starving. After feeling those tiny pointy kitten teeth in his hand, he was confident the little nursling could probably handle a couple flecks of beef jerky. 

He dug into the leg pocket of his BDUs and pulled out a pouch of jerky. From his hip pocket, he grabbed Mac's Swiss Army Knife. He hadn't noticed Mac slip it into his bag with a note about making sure to bring it back safe because it was kind of his trademark thing. It hadn't been nearly as utilized by Jack as it was by his partner, but he loved having it on him. Jack opened the saw blade and used it to shred a chunk of beef jerky into sawdust. He sprinkled a little at the opening and made a trail toward himself with it.

The kitten was immediately enticed and licked the tiny pieces, following to Jack's hand where the largest pile lay. Tentatively the tiny orange ball of fluff missing the tip of his ear approached Jack's hand. Initially he refused to take the food from Jack's palm, so Jack eased one finger toward the cat, allowing an investigation at a curious distance. 

His cold nose touched Jack's fingertip and licked the residual meat taste from it. Jack gently traced his index finger up the baby's nose to between his ears before rubbing it on the cat's cheek. Leaning into the touch, the kitten was no longer apprehensive, and pressed his cheek back and forth into Jack's hand. As Jack rubbed its forehead with his thumb, he eased the palm full of food toward the cat again. 

Feeling safe, the animal eagerly gobbled up the crumbs of jerky. "Can I pick you up?" Jack asked, and it backed up away from Jack but not out of reach. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly and held both palms open on the ground and folded himself all the way to the ground. "It's ok, buddy, come'ere."

Approaching again with trepidation, the ball of fluff sniffed Jack's fingers and licked. Jack’s other hand crept toward the kitten slowly, making sure it was watching and aware of his movements. One he was close enough, he ran his thumb up the kitty’s nose and between his ears, gradually petting a little further down his back each time. Once he was able to place his entire palm across the cat’s back, he wrapped his fingers around its torso and pulled it tightly to his chest. 

Jack whispered reassurances while petting him and getting as much physical contact as he could, “I got you, little buddy. It’s ok.” The animal clambered up Jack’s chest and to his neck, attempting to burrow up under his chin. “Is that better for you? That’s alright, go where you’re comfortable.” Jack had hoped the little guy would have stayed away from his face, but there was no turning back. At least they had some allergy medicine in the med kit. 

“You good?” he asked before standing up. The kitten clawed his neck and shoulder, unable to retract the tiny razor sharp nails while trying to hold on for dear life. “It’s ok, you’re not gonna fall. I’m just gonna take you inside where it’s safe and get you some water.” He could feel the kitten’s delicate ribs wiggling in his hand, he was definitely malnourished and thirsty. Jack began to worry that the human food they had wasn’t going to be enough to nurse the baby back to health.


	2. Chapter 2

Back in their makeshift quarters, Jack settled in a small corner aisle, using his body to block the way out for his new friend. Sifting through the piles of long discarded trash, he found a styrofoam coffee cup and used Mac’s knife to cut it down to kitten size. Not knowing how long ago the cat had been forcefully weaned from its mother, Jack wasn’t even sure if he even knew how to drink from a bowl. 

With the windows thoroughly blacked out with cardboard, they were able to illuminate the inside of the building without being obvious from the outside. Since the team was mostly sleeping, Jack used a small hand-crank lamp to make enough light to give his new friend a once over once they were settled in. Jack poured some water into the makeshift bowl, not wasting a drop, and pushed it gingerly toward his little partner cowering in the corner.

The kitten made no effort to investigate the water, and remained backed into the corner. “You can drink, little buddy, it’s good. Refreshing.” Jack stuck his finger into the bowl and pulled it out with a drop forming at his fingertip. He slowly put it in front of the cat’s nose and was ignored for a moment before curiosity got the best of him. The kitty sniffed and then licked, catching the drop before it could fall to the ground. Jack repeated the action, and the cat had another drop. They did this several times, with Jack slowly inching the cat toward the bowl with each droplet of water he fed to it. “There ya go, almost there.” 

Once the cat was hovering over the bowl, Jack dipped one last time and took his finger away before the cat could lick it, trying to get him to notice the water source was there instead of his finger. Finally, it noticed and investigated the dish. Instead of lapping at the water like a proper cat, he stuck his nose into the water and backed off with a start. His whole body shook knocking his legs out from under him with the cutest little sneeze Jack had ever heard. “That’s ok, champ, we’ve all done it. Give it another shot,” he cooed quietly. 

Jack pushed the dish even closer and the cat tried again, this time using his tongue to test the water. He licked slowly at first, but once he got the hang of it, his rough tongue was lapping up water quickly, the surface rippling with each drink. Jack could hear each tiny swallow until the cat began to purr. Overwhelmed with emotion at the cat’s quick acceptance of his presence, Jack beamed. He reached out slowly and touched the cat’s forehead with his thumb to see if he’d react. The kitten’s muscles tensed up, but he didn’t run away. Jack was getting through to him.

“That’s enough, I don’t want you making yourself sick.” Jack told him as he pulled the dish away and put it out of sight. “You can have some more later.” The cat stood there dumbfounded, unable to locate his water. He sniffed the air, and apparently picked up the scent of the meat on Mac’s pocket knife. 

Noticing the curious little nose searching for food, Jack pulled another piece of meat from the jerky bag and the knife from his pocket and began to shred another piece for the cat. Not willing to wait for it, the cat pounced on Jack’s leg, sharp little claws luckily unable to pierce the fabric of Jack’s tear resistant BDUs. He crawled right up to Jack’s hands and tried to grab the meat as Jack was shredding it. 

“Oh, you sure are hungry, aren’t you, little friend? Just hold on a second and you can have at it. I’m not sure you’re ready for this whole hunk, ain’t got your shredding teeth yet.” Jack raised his hands up above his head and the cat climbed his tac vest up to his shoulder. “Whoa, slow down, turbo.” Jack stretched his arms out straight in front of him and the kitten walked clumsily across Jack’s arm. His nails dug into Jack’s flesh as he slipped walking across the crook of Jack’s elbow. With quick reflexes, he bent his arm and caught the kitten before it dropped. He pulled it into his chest and held it firmly.

“Careful, little buddy. You’re gonna fall.” It squirmed to get away, and Jack released him gently on the ground, “I guess you’re pretty hungry, huh?” Jack opened his palm to start shredding the meat again, careful to keep it high enough and outward enough for the cat to not be able to reach it. As Jack shredded quickly, the cat discovered that the flakes were falling to the ground in front of Jack’s crossed legs.

The cat gobbled up the pieces yet again, obviously starving. Jack felt so bad for him, but was afraid that salty jerky probably wasn’t the most ideal food for an abandoned kitten. Frankly, they didn’t have a lot to offer him. Jack had an epiphany. The powdered eggs were not remotely tasty, but they’d probably feed the baby quite well with their soft texture and various nutrients and protein. 

Jack dug through his pack and fixed some eggs for the cat, but it was still pawing at his pocket that held the jerky. Trying to snuffle his nose into Jack’s pocket, the kitten wedged itself under Jack’s thigh to gain access to the meat. “Got something else for you now, little fella.” Jack pulled him out of the pocket and secured the velcro flap. He placed the cat in front of the bowl containing the eggs, and the cat was not interested and went back to the pocket. “I know, they’re pretty unpleasant, but you need to eat. You’re nothin’ but skin and bones.” 

He put him in front of the bowl again, and the cat walked away. Jack decided to entice him with a little more meat, and shredded some over the eggs. That did the trick, and the cat wolfed down the food, growling possessively the entire time. His belly was visibly protruding and rounded by the time licked the bowl clean. “That’s it. Way to go, little dude. You feel better now?” Jack rubbed the signature tabby M pattern over the cat’s eyes with his thumb until it purred.

“I guess we’re friends now, huh?” Jack smiled as the cat bumped its head against his leg and rubbed his cheeks on Jack’s pants to mark him. “If you’re gonna hang out with us in here while you get big and strong, we should probably call you something.” He picked the tiny cat up and held him at eye level. “You can’t be more than 3 or 4 weeks old, but I don’t know anything about cats. I just fed the barn cats and petted them sometimes. Their mama did the feeding, and I didn’t play with them until they were bigger and more independent. When Brent wakes up, I’ll ask him, he likes cats a lot.” 

The cat squeaked at Jack and he put him down to let him explore. He didn’t make it far before he was back to Jack’s lap, too stuffed to frolick. Jack picked him up again and pressed him to his chest, petting him. “You’re all grimey, like Mac after a mission. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Jack pulled one of the baby wipes out of his pack. His team didn’t always have the luxury of showers and were stuck spot cleaning most of the time. "A TNA” bath, or armpits, taint, nuts, and asshole, was the norm. 

"Where'd you go, little cat nugget?" Jack called quietly once he had the wipe and was warming it between his palms. "Get over here you little…" Jack thought for a moment, "I need to figure out what to call you." He picked the kitten up and placed him in the pit formed in the center of his crossed legs. 

Starting behind the ears, Jack wiped the soot from the cat's fur, talking to him soothingly the entire time. Mostly he was rambling about his kids, but it seemed to keep the animal calm. The cat was still dirty when Jack got to his tail, but cleaner than he had been; there were finally identifiable white spots in his ginger fur. 

"Oh no," Jack fussed in a sympathetic voice when he reached the tip of the cat's tail. "You're missing a little off the end of your tail, you poor thing." There was dried blood on the tip of its tail where no attempt had been made to clean it. Jack wasn't even sure if it knew how to lick itself clean yet. 

He wiped delicately with the cloth to gauge his reaction, and the cat wasn't having it. Holding the cat up near his face to take a peek at the difference in the dim light, Jack told him, "OK, we're done for now, you're a little more presentable now, less chimney sweep and more John McClane's tank top kind of dirty." Jack pulled him to his chest again as it started purring, "I think you have a name now, McClane." He admired his tiny friend pressed into his chest, "a little grime, a little blood, it suits you."

Brent Bailey quietly made his way through their makeshift bunker and took a seat next to Jack. "You find a new friend, Dalton?" Bailey rubbed his thumb between the cat's eyes. 

"You're a cat guy, right?" Jack asked him. 

Bailey shrugged, "I guess. I had a couple at home."

"What am I supposed to do? I've only had barn cats, and I'm allergic, so I never played with them. I mean are they supposed to do something? Does it like sleep in a nest or a burrow or anything?"

"If you're allergic, why are you holding it?" He asked and Jack shrugged.

"Doesn't seem to be a problem right now for some reason."

"That's good. Let me see him." Bailey reached for the cat, and Jack placed him gingerly into his awaiting hands. He stroked its head and examined him from nose to tail, holding him up with one hand and petting with the other. "He's young, starving. Poor little guy. Probably been away from his mom for a while.” Turning him around, he held up the kitten’s already straightened tail and checked he backside, “Yea, I’m pretty sure he’s a he. Hard to tell this young, but congratulations! It’s a boy.” He handed the cat back to Jack. 

“Well I’m not keeping ‘im. Just gonna help him get his strength and send him on his way.” 

His friend scoffed, “your reputation precedes you, Dalton. You can’t resist a stray.” Jack protests the comment with an exaggerated eyeroll, but he really didn’t have anything to say to counter it. After a moment, Bailey stood up, “My turn to take watch, you and the fluff ball go ahead and get some sleep.” 

Jack carried the kitten to the newly vacated cot and laid down, releasing the animal so it could find a place to nest and settle on its own. He wiggled his back and shoulders in an attempt to settle get comfortable and hoped the cat would do the same. 

The kitten scampered off to one of the sleeping teammates and hopped up and across him. Wilkinson sat straight up, startled and looking for a rodent to shoo away. Jack gasped and covered the length of the room in three steps to grab the animal before it woke someone else. 

“Sorry,” Jack apologized as he reached across the very spooked Wilkinson and grabbed the cat. He returned to his cot and rolled onto his side to attempt to make him settle down. Wadding up a scarf next to the cot, he placed the kitten on top of it, hoping that some kind of nest would entice him.

He wasn’t interested and walked away. Jack put him back on the scarf and pet his head to see if he’d stay put. The longer Jack stroked the soft fur between his eyes, the slower the cat blinked, so Jack rolled onto his side to hang his arm over the cot to reach the cat more easily. He eventually dropped his back legs and curled into a ball. Fighting the sleep as long as he could, the cat purred and relaxed completely. 

Jack pulled his knees in also, curling up as much as his worn old back allowed. He tucked his hands together under his cheek and closed his eyes to rest. It only took a couple of seconds for the cat to leave his bed and jump onto the cot. Peeking out of one eye, Jack watched him plop down at Jack's waist. The cat fit himself into the bend between Jack's belly and thighs, then curled up again and went to sleep. 

**** 

After a few hours rest, the rest of the guys were up and milling around. A couple went out to patrol while the rest stayed behind. The cat was still out hard when Jack came to awareness, wiggling joints going from head to toe to release some of the stiffness before getting up. He tried to do it without disturbing the kitten, but once Jack rolled to his back to stretch, the lack of contact was noticed.

The kitten stood on all fours and arched his back in a big stretch that tensed all of his tiny muscles until they shook. Upon relaxing, he strutted up the cot to Jack's chest with his little triangle tail sticking straight up like a Christmas tree.

He sat down on Jack's sternum and waited there until he received attention. After a quick head pat and a scratch between the ears, he made his way into Jack's jerky pocket. 

Jack laughed, "Hungry again already?" As he rose to sitting, he grabbed the cat and held him to his chest again. "Let's go to the bathroom first."

After strapping on his thigh holster, Jack went outside into the harsh daylight with the cat in hopes that he could figure out the bathroom thing. He got his first good look at the kitten, "you're a grimey little fella, ain'tcha?" His orange fur was still grayed with soot, so much so that made it look like he was wearing dark slippers. He had quite a bit of white on his belly and chin, and Jack wondered if his paws were actually orange too. 

Jack found a pile of mostly sand and some ash in an inconspicuous spot near their makeshift bunker. He regretted cleaning the fuzzball earlier because he was about to get his tiny paws even more filthy. Surely this little guy knew how to do his business outside, so it was time to put his cat instincts to the test. 

Once in the sand pile, the kitten sniffed around and pawed at the ground, but he didn’t go immediately. “Maybe you need a little privacy,” Jack suggested, standing up to round a corner and relieve himself as well. 

As soon as he shook himself dry and tucked back in, Jack spotted the cat at his ankles and snatched him up. “Oh nooo, you don’t want to get into that. That’s not for drinking.” He tucked the kitten under his arm and turned around to see if he had any luck in the makeshift litter.

Their bathroom break was a success, and Jack praised and pet his tiny new friend for a job well done. He pulled out another piece of jerky to shred once they got back inside and let McClane sniff at it and lick it a few times. 

They shared a meal and some water, and Jack got the kitten settled in for a nap so he could head out to patrol. Jack tiptoed away from the sleeping kitty, cozy and balled up inside a scarf on the cot. After he geared up and got to the door to exit, he glanced back at the cot, and the scarf was empty. 

“Hey, little buddy,” he called out sweetly when he saw the cat clambering to get to Jack before he made it to the door. “I think you need to stay here, friend. It’s daylight outside, that’s prime kitty sleep hours. So I’m gonna put you back to bed.” 

Jack spent a couple minutes gently petting between the cat’s eyes to get him back to sleep. At the door, he scurried back to Jack again. “You can’t follow me out there, you could get hurt. Go play with one of the guys if you refuse to sleep.” He explained and slipped out the door, only allowing it open enough to slide his body through the opening, using his boot to block the exit as he shut the door. Confirming that the cat was unable to follow him, Jack headed out to his patrol.

Once he was out of sight from their base of operations, Jack heard a scuttling behind him and saw his kitten friend closing the gap between them. “How in the hell?” Jack whispered, dumbfounded. He turned around, hands on his hips, and looked at the persistent fluffy ginger cat who came to a stop in front of Jack, sitting at kitty attention with his paws together and his rear on the ground. 

“I guess you’re not taking no for an answer.” He pulled the Jerky pouch out of his biggest side pocket on his pants and tucked it into a different pocket for safe keeping. He picked up the cat and placed him gently into the newly emptied pocket and folded the flap over it. “You gotta stay put, or I’m gonna have to take you back. Capice?”

He wasn’t actually expecting an answer, but the cat didn’t poke his head out of the pocket. Jack walked off the awkwardness of having something squishy and wiggly in that pocket instead of gear, but the kitten didn’t seem to mind the ride. Farily certain his stowawy passenger was asleep, Jack patrolled for a good hour before the cat even stirred. 

While Jack surveyed the area from a higher ground, McClane poked his little head out of the pocket and mewed. “You’re not very stealthy, are you?” Jack whispered. He mewed again, “ok, we’ll get moving again in a minute,” Jack explained as he scratched the cat behind the ears. After clearing the area, Jack and his tagalong headed back to base, plopping the cat back into his makeshift litter spot before going inside to introduce him to the rest of the guys since it was clear they had a new team member now. 


End file.
